


Zeeplabor: The Virtue of Sloth

by DancouMaryuu



Series: Zeeplabor - The Mobile Police [7]
Category: Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor | Mobile Police Patlabor, Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Patlabor Fusion, Gen, Mecha, Police, Real Robot, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22684414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancouMaryuu/pseuds/DancouMaryuu
Summary: After a chance encounter, Judy herself begins to have doubts about her piloting ability. A run-in with an old friend gives Nick an idea of how to resolve this, but can Division 2 take this kind of humiliation if they are to improve?
Relationships: Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde
Series: Zeeplabor - The Mobile Police [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1192279
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	1. "You'd think the police would be more careful."

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here we are. It only took almost a year… I'm not sure I have an excuse for this delay. I just hope you readers are still around for this! Updates should come every other week until this serial is completely uploaded at least.
> 
> A _big_ thank-you to J Shute, LordKraus, and ubernoner for beta reading this beast, and to the good folks at the Zootopia Author's Association Discord server for giving me the encouragement to sit my butt down and actually write something.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!

In the short time she’d been working at SV2, Judy had found that days off were few and far-between. Usually this didn’t bother her, partly because she wanted to devote as much time as possible to her job, and partly because actual deployments only came so often. Most of her time ‘at work’ was either doing Animazon-Rule required repair work, or doing paperwork in the Ready Room.

Still, Judy was glad to have today off. It felt like the grey bunny hadn’t seen enough of the actual city. It had been months since she’d left Bunnyburrow and she still felt like a tourist.

In fact, right now Judy was reading a tourist booklet as she made her way through town. She’d figured she might as well get her parents’ minds off all the danger she was in as a Zeeplabor Forward by sending them selfies in front of Zootopia’s major landmarks. Just her luck they’d seen meme of Unit 2 getting clonked with a dome panel! Frith only knew what they’d have thought if they’d gotten footage of Hylander getting his Labor decapitated by that bridge…

Anyway, Judy had decided to start her ‘tour’ in Sahara Square, near the Oasis Hotel, then work her way across Downtown to Savanna Central, maybe taking in the Rainforest District or the Meadowlands if she had time.

Located in the heart of Savanna Central and ringed by streetcar tracks, Aquavitae Plaza had easily become Judy’s favorite sight to see. Surrounding the Plaza were the tall, hoof-shaped City Hall, the _art nouveau_ Natural History Museum, the organic-gothic Central Library, and of course, the imposing Zootopia Police Department Headquarters.

The bunny had to admit she felt lost in the big city, and having to weave her way between larger mammals didn’t help at all. The idea of taking Robin with her popped into her mind. If nothing else, it’d look funny seeing a giant Labor act like a lost _turista_.

Judy was still giggling at the mental image as she walked out of Aquavitae Plaza. Then, she looked ahead of her and saw a giant, flat object ambling down the street, with a thick tail dragging along the ground behind it. Judy’s pace was faster even at walking speed, so she came close enough to find that the odd sight was an otter, groaning under the weight of an enormous book. Obviously the book had been bound with larger animals in mind.

“Excuse me?” Judy asked. “Can I help you with that?”

The book dipped briefly as the otter nodded. “Please.”

Judy moved to the tail-end of the book and held it up as the otter swung around so she could see the rabbit, allowing Judy a better view of her.

“Thank you,” sighed the green-eyed, purple coat-wearing otter.

Judy glanced at the book and shook her head. “I’m surprised there isn’t a smaller edition.”

“There isn’t; this is the only copy in the library system,” said the otter. “Normally my husband picks these up, but he’s dealing with a client and I offered to pick it up for him.” The otter shook her head. “I’ve seen him carry big books like this home before, but now I’m wondering if I should drag him to the nearest chiropractor.”

Judy chuckled.

“Sorry to bother you with this,” said the otter.

“Oh no. It’s no bother,” Judy assured as they carried the book down the street. “I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.” Judy’s eyes travelled over the book again, taking in its aged cover and the gold-embossed words, _A Natural History of Toxic and Hallucinogenic Irises_. “Are you into flowers?”

“No, my husband is,” said the otter. “It’s part of his job.”

“Is he a botanist?”

“No, a florist.”

“Ah…” Judy smiled. “I’m from the Tri-Burrows myself. You gotta know your plant husbandry out there. So, where are you taking this?”

“Oh, my husband’s shop. It’s just a couple blocks away.”

The walk was indeed rather short as the two smaller mammals weaved their way around larger ones, occasionally chatting about flowers. Eventually, they reached a narrow street – narrow, at least, by the standards of elephants and other megafauna. To Judy, it was about the same width you’d see in central Bunnyburrow, albeit with much taller buildings on ether side. Not surprisingly, most of the mammals Judy saw in this street were smaller ones – no bigger than a wolf or so – even though the shop entrances were still ‘omniscaled’ – built to a standard so all species could conceivably enter.

Judy and the otter made their way to one such shop – “Blooming Savanna,” read the logo on the awning. Judy caught a sign in the window saying “Fiona’s Flora,” and with slightly different hours than what was in the other window. The rabbit’s nose twitched; why would a flower shop have two names and two sets of hours?

“Uh, Fiona, is it?”

“What?” The otter looked back. “Oh no, it’s Lily – Lily Otterton.”

“Oh…” Judy was even more confused as they passed through the door. Behind the counter stood an elderly reindeer.

“ _This_ is Fiona,” said the otter, gesturing to the reindeer. “Hello!”

“Oh hi, Lily,” said the doe. “Still no sign of Emmet?”

“No, he’s busy with a regular – a rich one,” said Lily. “Emmet says this one’s planning for a wedding and he’s rather particular.”

“Ah…” The reindeer nodded.

“Uh, where do you want it?” said Judy.

“Oh, right behind the counter is fine,” said Lily, and they guided the book around the counter, laying it by Fiona’s pedal hooves.

The otter sighed as she straightened her back. “I can’t thank you enough, Miss…?”

“Oh, Judy,” said Judy, extending her hand. “Judy Hopps.”

“Judy…” Lily accepted the handshake. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Judy remembered the second sign. “I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s with that sign in the window?”

“Oh, Fiona’s moved her business here while she finds a permanent home,” said Lily. “Her shop got damaged by those rampaging Labors on Okavango Road.”

A chill ran down to Judy’s tail.

“I can’t thank Lily and her husband enough for letting me stay here,” said Fiona, smiling down at the otter.

“How goes the search?” said Lily.

“I found two possible sites,” said Fiona, idly waving a hoof. “One’s here in Savanna, but it’s a bit close to Bisondale for my liking. The other’s in the Rainforest District. It’s hard to get an affordable place for a shop close to the Market Axis these days. I’ll just keep looking and if I can’t find anywhere better, I’ll go with one of those two.”

“Okay,” said Lily, shaking her head. “Still, the times we live in… having to worry about rampaging giant robots…!”

“Well, it’s a good thing we have Zeeplabors then,” said Judy.

“That’s what I thought, too,” said Fiona. “Only thing is, they’re just as bad if what happened to my shop is any indication.”

“Amen to that,” sighed Lily. “You’d think the police would be more careful. I’m surprised no one’s been killed yet.”

_“Only a matter of time before her impetuousness has lethal consequences.”_

“Is something wrong?” Lily said abruptly.

“No, nothing’s wrong…” Judy shook her head, trying to get her stamping foot under control.

“Oh, that’s right, you’re from the Burrows,” said Lily, putting a warm paw on Judy’s shoulder. “I’m guessing there aren’t that many Labors out there – this must be a lot to process. Lord knows it is for me, and I’ve lived in Zootopia my whole life.”

“Oh, th-there’s a few farming Labors here and there,” said Judy. “A-anyway, I’m sure the police are doing their best.”

* * *

“I know I’ve asked this before, but am I _really_ that bad?” Judy turned to her co-workers, her legs dangling off the kitchenette counter.

The rest of SV2 stiffened at their desks.

Clawhauser glanced from side to side, a spoonful of Lucky Chomps still in his mouth.

Beaverbrook buried his nose in _An Illustrated History of Semaphore_.

Hylander coughed, adjusted his glasses, and stared out the window. Nick soon joined him.

Judy pushed herself off the counter, landing with a thud. “You guys…!”

Lee looked around the room, sighed, and set down her copy of _Barke’s All the World’s Labors_ on the desk in front of her. “Since no one else wants to mention it, you’ve been acting reckless since this Division was formed, and it’s given the public a bad perception of us and of SV2 as a whole.

Everyone stared at Lee.

“What?” The opossum’s tail twitched. “Someone had to say it.”

“ _I_ could have done that, Pouchvenger,” said Nick, prompting Lee to stare at him with horror – he hadn’t found her _Zoovenger Robo_ boxset, had he?!.

The fox then turned to Judy. “Fact is, Carrots, you have a bit of a tunnel vision problem.”

Judy’s nose twitched.

“What Wilde is saying,” said Lee, with a quick, worried glance at Nick, “is that a lot of the time you become so focused on dealing with the operation’s target that you don’t notice when you create collateral damage.”

“Well, I can’t help that,” said Judy, her foot beginning to stamp. “With Labor-criminals, I _have_ to keep my eyes on the target.”

“She’s not psychic…” muttered Beaverbrook, before ducking his head behind his book again.

“She has a point,” said Hylander, glancing momentarily from the window. “And it’s not like she isn’t improving.”

Nick was stunned for a moment by the idea of Hylander coming to Judy’s defense, but then turned back to Judy. “You started on an agricultural Labor, right? Out in the Burrows?”

“Yeah?” said Judy.

“Well, that’s part of the answer right there,” said Nick, turning to Lee.

Lee’s brows rose. “I see…”

“I get it!” said Clawhauser, raising his spoon triumphantly. Then he tilted it back down. “What do I get?”

“Agro-Labors often require laser-like focus on the crops you’re working on,” said Lee. “And Hopps was working out in the Tri-Burrows, so…”

“So she had more room to stumble around,” Beaverbrook realized.

“I didn’t stumble around!” said Judy, scowling at the floor. “Not after the first two times, at least…”

“You know what we mean, Carrots,” said Nick. “It means you’re not used to tight spaces with more things to damage.”

“So, multitasking’s our main problem,” said Lee. “I think Captain Bogo had the right idea when we had that sparring match with the barrels. Maybe we could try that again?”

“Uh…” Judy’s ears drooped.

“Against Hylander,” Lee hastily added, prompting a sigh from Judy and Nick. “Or maybe just regular training simulations.”

“Those sims are made to test things like reaction time and accuracy,” said Nick. “They’re still working on decent programs for things like avoiding objects.”

“You’d think they’d have done that by now,” said Beaverbrook.

Lee shrugged. “They’re trying, but each Labor’s different; those sims were made for older Labors like the Tigersyo or Python. They’re still catching up to the Ingrowl – remember, it’s not fully in production yet.”

“So, it’s about the movement parameters?” Hylander asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not just that,” said Lee. “Those older Labors don’t have the engineering for quick reflexes; it’s the hardware _and_ the software that’s too advanced. This means the only way to prep the pilot is to focus on them individually.”

“So it all comes back to the psychology,” said Hylander. “In that case, I’d be happy to take part in a sparring match.”

“Let me stop you right there, Blunderbuss,” said Nick. “Captain Buffalo-butt wasn’t exactly eager to hold the last one, and that was _before_ Carrots and Pouchvenger gave him a faceful of paint, so I’m not sure he’d be up for another one.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” said Lee. “I don’t suppose anyone has any other ideas for avoiding property damage when fighting?”

“Or avoiding fighting at all,” said Nick. “The less either Labor’s moving around, the less chance there is for them to damage something.”

“Is that why you’ve been trying to talk pilots down?” said Lee.

“Something like that,” said Nick.

“About that, Nick…” Judy sat in her chair backwards, laying her arms on the chair’s back as she regarded the fox. “I’ve been wondering – are you a pacifist?”

“Nope, just a coward.” Nick’s trademark smirk wormed its way across his muzzle.

Judy’s jaw hung open for a moment. Before she could say anything, Hylander cut in.

“How can you sound so smug about that?!” the hyrax snapped.

Nick shrugged. “Cowards live longer; that’s a fact of life.”

“Police can’t be cowards,” snarled Hylander, his brow furrowing. “We’re supposed to be bold – disciplined! You can’t just make light of that!”

“H-Hylander…” Beaverbrook murmured as Hylander got out of his chair and stomped over to Nick.

“’Trust, Integrity, Bravery;’ those aren’t just words on our badges!” The hyrax grabbed Nick by the chest of his shirt. Nick’s mouth hung open in surprise.

“If you can’t understand that, you should just take off that badge and get out of here!” Hylander hissed. “Gah! It was naïve of me to think a _fox_ could-“

“ _QUIT IT!_ ” A voice shook the entire room. Everyone now stared at Beaverbrook, who covered his mouth, startled at his own outburst.

Hylander stared a bit longer, then let Nick go. “Discipline, Howard,” he muttered, before turning to Lee and standing to attention. “I apologize for that, Lieutenant Fox-ape; I lost my composure. I assure you this will _not_ happen again, but you may take whatever disciplinary action you see fit.”

Lee’s brow furrowed. “It’s not me you need to apologize to.”

“No, no,” said Nick, raising his hands, his usual smile returning to his muzzle. “I’m not making a complaint. Right now I figure we all want to forget this and get on with our day, so let’s just go and do that.”

_[[OST]](https://youtu.be/JBf8kzESALY) _

Nick went to the door. “I’ll be out fishing if anyone needs me.”

As the fox left, Judy glanced at Hylander, who stared at the door, his mouth hanging open. Then he studied the floor, fists and teeth clenched, muttering, “ _Dignitas et ingenium et muneris_ , Howard…” or something like that.

Judy then ran out of the room, taking a while to look for Nick before catching him toting his fishing pole and folded lounge chair out the hangar door.

“Nick, are you alright?” she asked.

“’Course I am, Carrots.” The fox was still smiling, but he didn’t turn to look at Judy.

“You should file a complaint, Nick,” said Judy.

“Nah, it’d just be a hassle for us both,” said Nick, continuing out the door. “Besides, we’ll be rid of each other soon enough.”

Judy’s ears drooped. “You still plan on getting kicked off the force?”

“Mmm-hm.”

“Then… then why have you been helping me?” said Judy.

“Hey, if you get kicked off first, they’ll be less willing to let me go; they’re short on qualified mammals, remember?”

Judy stopped walking as her jaw dropped, before running to catch up with Nick again.

“But-“

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Carrots.” Nick flashed Judy a quick grin. “You’ve still got a future here if you work at it. Don’t let a crook like me get in the way.”

Judy stopped again, watching the fox disappear into the overgrown weeds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**
> 
> 1) Kenji Kawai – "MEMORY" – from _Mobile Suit Gundam 00_


	2. “It’s… like… Zen… I guess.”

“What the fuzz, Nick?!” Finnick grumbled behind the wheel of his van. “You said the line was gonna be shorter at the drive-thru.”

“It _was_ earlier,” said Nick, shaking his head at the SUV in front of them. Through the rear windshield of the SUV, Nick could see a pair of hippos making exasperated gestures as the driver as the driver joined Finnick and numerous others in the chorus of blaring horns.

“Quit it,” said Nick, turning to the other fox. “That’s not helping.”

Finnick just snorted. “I told ya we shoulda gone to BugBurga. At least their soft-server machines _work_.”

“You _know_ C&W’s got the better burgers, buddy,” said Nick.

“Agree t’ disagree,” huffed Finnick, glowering at the line of cars ahead. “Anyway, why’re you so quiet today?”

“Quiet how?”

Finnick didn’t take his eyes off the SUV. “Usually y’ talkin’ about how cussfuzzin’ insane y’ co-workers are; ‘Pouchvenger did this,’ ‘Buffalo-butt did that,’ ‘Carrots did everything in between’… Only now you ain’t said a word ‘bout how today went.”

Nick just stared out the window.

“Hey, talk t’ me Nick,” said Finnick, turning to his passenger.

“It doesn’t matter,” muttered Nick. “At least it _won’t_ once I get out of there.”

“Still think yo’ plan’s crazy,” grumbled Finnick. “Even fo’ you.”

“Well, that’s me,” said Nick. “I make crazy work.”

Before Finnick could retort, he was greeted with another chorus of honks from in front. “Fo’ the love of- What the fuzz is goin’ on up there?!”

“Hang on, I’ll check.” Nick promptly hopped out the door and walked past the three cars in line ahead before encountering a sleek red sports car with the vanity plate ‘FST NSL’ positioned at the speaker/microphone stand. Leaning out the car’s window was a sloth trying to communicate his order to the increasingly exasperated voice coming from the speaker.

_[[OST1]](https://youtu.be/9o3cEYOxAjs) _

“…and a…double… tall…”

 _“Sir?”_ growled the speaker.

“…smooth…roast… decaf… coffee… extra… hot… extra… foam…”

“ _Will_ that _be all, sir?!”_

“…no… ice.”

 _“Is_ that _it?”_

“Make… sure… it’s… a … _large_ … onion rings.”

 _“I_ got _the large onion rings,”_ growled the female voice at the other end. From the slight braying in her voice, it must have been a caprid.

Nick smiled at he recognized the sloth. Only _he_ would drive a car like that. “Flash, Flash, hundred-yard dash!”

Gordon ‘Flash’ Slothmore slowly turned to Nick. “Niiiiiiick…!”

 _“Great, another one,”_ grumbled the speaker.

“It’s been ages, buddy,” said Nick. “How’ve ya been? Wait, hold that thought.”

 _“At least this guy talks normal,”_ muttered the caprid.

Nick turned to the microphone. “Just get this guy a double-double-veggie burger, no tomatoes, extra lettuce, large onion rings, smooth roast decaf coffee, extra hot, extra foam, and an apple turnover for dessert.” The fox turned back to Flash. “Same order as back in high school?”

A smile slowly wormed its way across the sloth’s face. “Yeah… Nick…”

 _“Thank_ God _,”_ sighed the caprid. _“I didn’t write down his order the first time because he was taking so long.”_

“…you… know… me…”

A voice could be heard in the background through the speaker. _“You shouldn’t have asked him to repeat it, Mauricia.”_

 _“I know, I_ know _…”_ moaned the caprid. _“Stupid!”_

“I’m a… sloth… who…”

“I’m actually with the van a few cars down,” said Nick. “If you like I can stay with this guy and pick up both our meals. Just tell the fennec in the van I’ve got his order.”

“…knows… what… he… _likes_ …”

 _“You got it. You’re a lifesaver,”_ said the caprid. _“You’re having_ _…?”_

“So… how have… you…”

“Double goat-cheese cricketburger with large fries and a cub sod for me, and a kiddie mealwormburger with apple juice for my colleague in the van ­– don’t forget the toy.”

“…been doing…”

_“Alrighty then. Proceed to the second window.”_

“…these days?”

“Me? Been alright,” said Nick, not missing a beat as he slid across Flash’s hood, landed on the other side of the sports car, yanked open the passenger-side door, and got into the car beside the sloth. The fox took in the car’s interior; obviously a custom job.

Nick whistled. “So how ‘bout you? Still the speed demon?”

Flash just gave a slow-motion smirk.

Thankfully the sloth drove much faster than he did most other things. However that proved to be a bit _too_ fast as Nick was hurled back and forth like a ragdoll as Flash’s car lurched toward the checkout window, where Nick assisted Flash in picking up the bags and paying for his meal. Nick then texted Finnick to meet him and Flash in a small park a few blocks down from the C&W.

By the time Flash got out of his car, Finnick had selected a picnic table. Still, it took the sloth a while to get the twenty feet from the curb to the table. Nick was in no hurry, so he just ambled along with Flash, the drive-thru bags in hand.

“So how’s the DMV treatin’ ya?” said Nick as he waited for Flash to advance before he took another step.

“Things are… doing… pretty… alright… given… the… givens. …Priscilla’s… doing… fine… as well.”

“Glad to hear it, buddy,” said Nick. “You caused quite the fracas back there.”

Flash gave a barely audible tongue-click, slowly shaking his head. “The… trouble… with… mammals… these… days is… they just… don’t… know… how… to wait.”

“Don’t I know it,” chuckled Nick. Hopps would give herself a hernia if she had to have a conversation with Flash.

Flash briefly (by sloth standards) looked up and cast Nick a grin. “You… seem… patient… enough… Nick.”

“Aw shucks, buddy,” said Nick.

“I… mean it… Nick.… You… seem like… you’ve… got… things… pretty… figured… out.”

“Gee Flash, I–“

“I… saw you… on… the news.”

Nick’s ears drooped.

“Working… with… Labors… must… be pretty… cool.”

Nick hoped the sloth couldn’t see his ears turning red. “Well, don’t you technically work with Labors?”

“The… D… M… V… just… registers… Labors… We don’t… actually… pilot… them… you know.”

“Neither do I – I’m just a backup.”

By now the two were halfway to the picnic table. Finnick was looking impatient.

“Still… closer… to the… action… than… me.”

Nick snorted. “You say that like that’s a good thing – I think I’ve lost five pounds from total fear since I signed on.”

“Ha… ha… ha…!”

“I’m serious, Flash,” said Nick. “I’d say you’ve got things more set than me. You’re pretty laid-back, and next to me that’s no mean feat.”

“It’s… no… big… deal,” said Flash, giving a slow-motion shrug. “I’m… just… a… patient… kind of… guy.”

“Seems like that’s a virtue for you sloths,” said Nick.

“The food even lukewarm in there?” Finnick grumbled from the table.

“Yeah.… You don’t… see… sloths… stressed… out… that much.…It’s… like… Zen… I guess.”

“Zen?”

Another slow-motion shrug. “Maybe… not.… I don’t… know.… Either way… I like… to think… us… sloths… are… just… plain…”

“Would ice cubes warm it up?” Finnick growled from six-and-a-half feet away.

“… _paaaaaatieeeeent_.” The three-toes sloth gave a small skir. “Lots… of… reason… to… stop… and smell… the… roses.”

“Ah, fergeddit,” Finnick growled, leaping from the table to grab the bags of fast food from Nick.

“As he peeked inside, the tiny fox’s muzzle contorted into a snarl. “What the fuzz, Nick?! A kiddie burger?!”

* * *

In his dingy apartment – still an improvement over the bridge – Nick clambered into his undersized bed, curling up around his tail.

The fox mulled over the events of the day. Hopps certainly could take some cues from a guy like Flash. Pity she wasn’t a sloth…

Nick suddenly bolted upright.

Why was it that his stupid ideas were the ones that made the most sense?!

* * *

“Just hear me out you guys,” said Nick. “What if we made Carrots a sloth?”

The lithe grey rabbit and the burly hyena just stared at the fox as Judy began wiping down Robin’s left leg.

Joanna Namakoro turned to Judy. “Is he alright?”

Judy just shrugged.

“I’m just saying, if we slowed you down, it might train you to look more at your surroundings.”

Judy tilted her head. Joanna scratched the mane poking out from under her mechanics’ cap.

“O-kaaaay…?” said Joanna. “But how are you plannin’ on doin’ that? Last I checked, genetic engineering ain’t nothin’ like the comic books.”

Nick smirked. “That’s where you come in, Big Wrench. Who needs genetic engineering when we’ve got mechanical engineering? Back when I was with Inaba, they were experimenting with power suits for mammals our size using Microlabor tech – to help small mammals with heavy lifting. What if we made a suit like that, but for slowing down movement?”

“Like some kind of workout machine?” said Judy.

“More like something that detects movement and slows it down as it happens.”

Joanna raised an eyebrow. “That is _some_ level of engineering right there.”

“The Ingrowls and Pythons both use motion-capture tech for intricate hand movement,” said Nick. “And last I checked, you’ve got access to tons of spare parts.”

“Yeah,” the hyena snorted. “If you’re building a Labor taller than an elephant.”

Nick wasn’t fazed. “I know mammals from junkyards and electronics stores. They can help with the tiny parts – plenty of spares for Microlabors.”

Joanna shook her head again. “Still a lotta effort on my part.”

“Okay…” Nick made a show of turning his back to the hyena mechanic. “I’ll just let you miss out on this little bit of elbow grease and leave you to your eternity of heavy repairs on Robin whenever Carrots goes off the rails. Your call, Big Wrench.”

“Hey!” Judy protested.

Before Judy could say anything more, Joanna had dashed in front of Nick, donning a toothy grin. “Where do we start?”

Nick smirked.

* * *

Joanna gave it a week, but in the end it was only four days before the first of the ‘sloth suits’ was finished. That is, if ‘finished was the right word for it; Joanna insisted on it being linked up to her computer so that she could monitor its systems.

When Judy got a look at the suit, she wondered how the hyena could possibly monitor them – it just looked like there were so many.

The sloth suit itself looked like some kind of medieval torture device. It was comprised of a rabbit-scaled wetsuit so covered in metal frames and pneumatic cylinders that it could stand up on its own. Judy felt immobile the moment she strapped the thing on. About the only things it didn’t cover were her hands, feet, and head.

“Each of these pistons corresponds to a muscle,” said Joanna. “If all goes well, the mo-cap nodes’ll pick up your movement and trigger the moving muscles’ pistons, pushing back against them just a teensy bit.”

“Feels like it’s resisting me already,” muttered Judy.

“Uh, Judy?” said Joanna. “I haven’t switched it on yet.”

“Oh.”

“I’m gonna turn the whole shebang on in just a sec. It it’s completely holding you down or pinching you at all, let me know. I’ll probably have to re-tune it anyway.”

Judy nodded. “Okay…”

Joanna placed her finger on a switch just under Judy’s chin. “I put the on/off switch here so you can turn it off with your chin in an emergency. I’m gonna power it on in three, two, one…!”

[ _[OST2]_ ](https://youtu.be/uXr16835dnI)

**_CLICK_ **

Almost instantly, Judy felt the suit tightening up against her, somehow pushing every muscle in. It felt like it was about to crush her completely.

Joanna must have seen the rabbit’s look of discomfort as she dashed to her computer, punching in commands. “Hang on. I’ll loosen ‘er up.”

The crushing feeling subsided, but Judy still felt… _heavy_.

“Don’t try and move just yet,” said Joanna, still typing away. “Okay… That should do it. Let’s try something simple. Try moving your arm out and forward.”

Judy began to move her arm, but soon heard the pistons engaging as her movement slowed.

“I think it’s working,” said Nick, his expression brightening.

Just then, Judy’s arm stopped moving halfway through the gesture.

“Hmm…” Joanna resumed typing. “Was worried about this – system interpreted the slowing-down as you trying to stop the movement and it got into a feedback loop that made it stop completely. Bit of extra code and… there we go. Try reaching that arm for the ceiling.”

Judy began raising her arm upwards. Once again, the pneumatics went into action, stopping her movement, but this time the slowdown wasn’t so rapid. It wound up being fifteen seconds before Judy got her arm pointing upwards.

Joanna smiled. “ _Now_ we’re cookin’.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, that looked real sloth-like.”

“This is so weird…” Judy muttered.

Joanna took another look at her screen and typed in a few more setting updates. “The hard part is making sure the suit follows through on movements – making sure the slow-down commands aren’t getting messed up by new inputs from Judy’s body. I’m not 100% sure I’ve got that settled, so I’d like to get as much testing out of this as possible.”

The hyena looked back at Judy. “Try waving your arm – like you’re waving at someone in the weeds.” She gestured toward the field of weeds visible through the open hangar doors.

Judy tried to wave, but her arm jerkily moved toward her head in a stuttering motion. She began to worry about knocking herself out, but her arm never made contact.

Joanna typed in some more settings. “One good thing about these modified Labor OSs is that they learn a bit from each movement. So hopefully the more complicated movements’ll get less jerky the more you use the suit. Keep waving.”

Judy kept waving and sure enough, her arm’s movements grew less fitful and more smooth, but still incredibly slow.

“Okay, now try flapping your arms,” said Joanna, not taking her eyes off the screen.

Judy did so. At first her left arm felt as jerky as her right arm first hand, but its movements very quickly grew as her right.

From there, the testing moved to the legs. It wound up being a while before Judy could actually walk in the sloth suit, mainly because the change in momentum meant she had to change the way she walked. Joanna kept updating the suit’s movement settings all throughout the exercise, eventually feeling confident enough that she unplugged the cables that ran from her computer to the suit’s spinal area and shifted to wireless updates.

Still, the whole experience was painstakingly slow for Judy. As she tried to walk back and forth, she turned her head back and noticed that in just over a minute, she’d only walked about six feet forward.

“I think this is a bit much,” she said.

“You kidding?” said Nick, walking up beside Judy. “I was on the track team with a sloth and you’re moving like he did in the 100-yard-dash, Carrots.”

Judy rolled her eyes and waited for the inevitable smirk from Nick, but it didn’t come.

“Running?” said Joanna.

“Yeah,” said Nick.

“Better turn it up then,” said the hyena, typing into her laptop.

“Seriously?!” Judy groaned as the suit slowed down even more.

After a few horrifically belabored paces, Judy heard a voice from behind her.

“Just what the hell are you doing?” growled Captain Bogo.

Judy tried to turn her head around, bus she could only just catch the buffalo in her peripheral vision. Soon she tried turning her body around, but all she could do was see her peripherals getting clearer and clearer as the suit slowed her rotation.

“J-just a little side project, Cap’n,” Joanna stammered.

“Side proj- _why_?!”

“It’s our way of dealing with Hopps’ tunnel vision,” said Nick.

“Wilde, was this your idea?”

Even through her peripherals, Judy could see Nick standing there, his mouth hanging open.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Bogo said. “Hopps wouldn’t dream up that thing and Namakoro’s too bloody sane for this.”

“Uh, thank you, Cap’n?” said Joanna.

“I figured it was wither you or Camazotz, Wilde – and since Camazotz hasn’t told me anything-“

“You called?”

A chill ran down Judy’s spine as the oddly light form of a spectral bat alighted on top of her head.

“Were you watching us?” said Judy, her teeth clenched in fright.

“Only the good parts,” said Chief Mechanic Camazotz, giving Judy an even bigger scare by tilting her head down over the rabbit’s face to look her in the eye. By now, Judy had learned that whenever Camazotz gave that toothy, fanged grin, it meant she should be afraid – _very_ afraid.

“I can handle my own officers, Lucy,” Bogo huffed.

“True, but seeing one of my mechanics spend so much time and effort on this thing…” The bat gestured down to Judy’s legs. “You should’a put those actuators on the _back_ of the legs by the way.”

“D’oh!” grunted Joanna, bringing a paw to her head. “I _knew_ something was up with that!”

“Thought I taught ya better than that, Joanna,” Camazotz chuckled. “Anyway, seeing so many parts going into this thing made me morbidly curious how it was gonna turn out. Gotta say, I wasn’t disappointed.”

“I’ll let you know when our act hits primetime,” Nick muttered before turning to Bogo. “Seriously though, Captain. We’re trying to help Hopps out here. You’re the one that’s always on our case about property damage.”

Camazotz used one of her wings to grab onto Judy’s ears, whispering into it. “This’ll be good.”

Bogo loomed over Nick as he gestured to the sloth suit. “How does putting her in this… this… cyberpunk BDSM cosplay help her with that?!”

Nick rubbed his chin as he turned to Judy. “There a market for that?”

“Focus, Wilde!” Bogo bellowed.

“Okay basically,” said Nick. “It’s to try and get Hopps to slow down a bit – get her to watch the situation more.”

“You could have done a few rounds of Kim’s Game – or anything else that didn’t hold our mechanics hostage,” growled Bogo.

“Kim’s Game?” said Joanna.

“Oh, I know that!” said Judy, her expression brightening. “We played it in Bunny Scouts. Basically we–“

“I wasn’t talking to you, Hopps!” said Bogo.

“Always figured Bogo was an ex-Junior Ranger Scout,” Camazotz whispered into Judy’s ear.

“Kim’s Game wouldn’t work with multitasking,” Wilde replied. “She just won’t have time for that in a fight. This is basically like those metal training rings baseball players put on their bats. I figured it was either this or another sparring match like she had with Pouchvenger.”

Bogo’s teeth clenched at the mention of the sparring match.

“Bogo?” Camazotz finally flew off of Judy’s head. “A word?”

The bull and the bat made their way toward Camazotz’s office. Judy, Nick, and Joanna just stood there wondering what was going to come next.

After a few minutes, Bogo stepped out, rubbing his head with his hoof and clenching his teeth. “Wilde, get Hopps out of that thing. I don’t want to see her in it again without my say-so. Namakoro, Camazotz wants a word.”

Joanna gulped and sauntered off to the office as Judy clambered out of the sloth suit.

That would be the last Judy or Nick saw of the hyena for a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**
> 
> 1) Micheal Giacchino -- "Work Slowly and Carry a Big Schtick" -- from _Zootopia_
> 
> 2) Micheal Giacchino -- "Work Slowly and Carry a Big Schtick (Expanded version)" -- from _Zootopia_


	3. "I just had another dumb idea"

That next week wound up being rather dull. The nutty weather had gone away, and outrage over the tax hike had subsided, so the only deployment had to make turned out to be a false alarm – of sorts.

Apparently a possibly senile ox hadn’t gotten the memo that his favorite department store was slated for the wrecking ball. It wasn’t until Hylander and Judy drew their weapons on the Bullfrog assisting the demolition that the ZPD realized what had happened. The hapless badger piloting the Bullfrog had been scared out of his wits, but no real damage was done other than a knocked-over fire hydrant and some unplanned assistance in tearing down the building.

No further news of Joanna or the sloth suits came during that time. Everyone in Division 2 (except Judy oddly enough) tossed around a few more ideas every now and then, but nothing ever came of them.

However, at the end of that week, Captain Bogo called all of his Division down to the hangar, where they lined up beside one of the carriers. Behind Bogo, Camazotz’s mechanics were carrying several objects toward them on carts.

“Before I say anything more, let me make one thing clear,” said the Cape buffalo. “This was _not_ my idea. But Chief Mechanic Camazotz seems to think this’ll get it into your heads that your Labors aren’t toys, so I’ll indulge her – if only to see if it works."

Camazotz herself then landed on the floor in front of Bogo. “These ‘sloth suits’ are designed to slow your movements,” she explained. “The basic concept is that slowing your movements’ll get ya to look before ya leap. Now both Forwards will be wearing these suits to see what happens, and since Backups have to be in sync with their Forwards, they’ll be wearing them too.”

Lee and Hylander grimaced. Nick glared at Judy, who just started in horror at the now mass-produced contraptions.

“Ah, don’t be so modest, Wilde,” Camazotz gave her ‘serial killer grin.’ “This was your idea, after all.”

Now everyone glared at Nick.

* * *

_[[OST1]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IUf9bqL6b8) _

“Can we all just agree that Hopps sucks us into weird situations?” said Nick, taking a very long time to raise his paw.

Judy tried to bury her head in her hands, but her suit prevented her hands from reaching her head in time.

“This was _your_ idea, Wilde,” snarled Hylander, sitting at his desk, trying to crane his neck to see Nick.

“Yeah…” Now Nick tried to cover his face with his hand, but his suit delayed that reaction as well.

Judy turned her head to face Lee’s desk just as her hands touched her cheek. Since putting on her suit and returning to the Ready Room, the opossum had been eerily still as she sat at her desk. Judy couldn’t tell if it was because of the suit or if she was just being that still. The fact that she was so quiet implied the latter.

“Lee?” Judy said, trying to shift herself out of the chair.

“Shh!” That was Beaverbrook, the only small mammal in Division 2 not wearing a sloth suit. “She’s meditating.”

Judy craned her neck to look at Lee before the rabbit and her suit landed on the floor with a ‘clank.’ Sure enough, Lee’s eyes were closed.

“Why’s she doing that?” Nick whispered.

“She told me it’s her way of getting through the day without the suit bugging her,” said Beaverbrook.

Nick and Judy began to amble their suit-delayed way towards Lee. It wound up being a minute before they made it to the other side of the room.

The opossum was as still as a statue as she faced the wall.

“Think I should hold a mirror in front of her to see if she’s breathing?” said Nick, earning the fox a “SHHH!” from Judy and Beaverbrook.

As if to answer the fox’s question, Judy’s long, sensitive ears picked up the soft, steady sounds of breathing from Lee’s chest.

“Wow,” Judy muttered. “She’s good.”

“ _I_ need to learn how to do-“ Nick was interrupted by a deep rumbling coming from Lee’s mouth.

“Was that a snore?” muttered the fox.

Judy scowled. “She’s not meditating – she’s napping!”

“ **VENGER BEEEEEEEEAAAAM!** ”

The sudden shout from the opossum caused Beaverbrook to jump back into Judy, knocking them both over as Lee opened her eyes and took in her co-workers staring at her.

“Sorry,” Lee said, yawning. “Must have fallen asleep. It’s my first time actually meditating.”

Judy wasn’t sure whether to believe that or not as Beaverbrook hefted the combined bulk of the bunny and her sloth suit to her feet.

Lee’s tail thrashed as she tried to turn her swivel chair around. “Honestly I have my doubts about this exercise.”

“Just now?” Judy grumbled as she tried to adjust her footing so that it didn’t resemble that of a badly posed action figure.

“You know what I mean,” said Lee. “All we’re doing is messing around with these suits. It’s amusing, but I’m not seeing any real progression in our skills. I still think we should have gone with another sparring match using Bogo’s rules. Then we could tell what works and what doesn’t.”

Nick’s brows shot up. “Oh god.”

“What?” said Judy.

“I just had another stupid idea.”

* * *

An hour-and-a-half later (much of it spent getting the four sloth-suited mammals down the stairs), Division 2 was looking over an octagon marked in green masking tape on the hangar floor, with pop cans and water bottles placed randomly all over it.

“All things considered, I see your logic, Wilde,” said Lee. “When you think about it, these suits are somewhat like Labors, so doing a scaled-down version of the barrel fight makes sense.”

“Still not sure this’ll work,” said Nick, wishing he could reach up to scratch the itch developing between his ears. “But it’s worth a try.”

“So who goes first?” said Beaverbrook.

“I will,” said Judy, eager to pass the time in Nick’s walking torture chamber somehow.

“And me,” said Hylander, earning a sigh of relief from Lee.

After Beaverbook put Judy and Hylander’s crash helmets on for them, the rabbit and the hyrax were set on opposite sides of the octagon.

“I’ll _try_ to go easy on you, Hopps, but no promises.” said Hylander, an odious smile on his muzzle. “I take no pleasure hurting a lady.”

Judy returned the grin. “Feeling’s mutual.”

Nick looked from one to the other of the Forwards. “Alright, three, two, one, _go_!”

_[[OST2]](https://youtu.be/0mopwx_opP0) _

No sooner had Nick uttered the word ‘go’ than everyone knew what would happen next as Judy and Hylander strained their suits’ systems trying to dash at each other. The combatants found themselves gritting their teeth as they tried to overcome their restraints. After a few moments, Judy felt like she’d lost three pounds since the match started.

“Wait! Hopps! Hopps! Hopps!” Beaverbrook yelled.

Too late, Judy heard a noise next to her foot. She craned her neck down to notice that her foot was touching one of the empty water bottles.

“Does that count as a penalty?” said Nick.

“She didn’t knock it over,” said Clawhauser. “Just nudged it a bit.”

Lee frowned. “I think it is. Bogo’s rules mentioned touching the barrels counted as a penalty if I remember rightly.”

“So that’s a penalty right out the gate for Carrots,” Nick sighed.

Suddenly there was a scream as Hylander fell face-first, crushing a soda can under the brow of his crash helmet.

Nick rolled his eyes. “…and one for Blunderbuss.”

“This blasted contraption took too long to adjust my footing,” grumbled Hylander, somehow perfectly balanced between one of his feet and the can under his helmet.

Lee tried – and failed – to bring her hand to her muzzle in thought. “Come to think of it, you sometimes have trouble balancing Unit 2 properly in close-quarters.”

“Hey, this _was_ a good idea,” said Clawhauser, grinning.

“So Carrots needs to work on her awareness, and Blunderbuss needs to work on his posture,” said Nick.

“I’ll have you know, Wilde, that- _ah!_ ” Hylander tried to push himself up, but the change in weight distribution was faster than his slowed-down reflexes, and he fell on his side, knocking over a bottle in the process.

Clawhauser scratched his head. “Is _that_ a penalty?”

Lee’s eyebrow twitched. “Let’s reset the stage and try again. Clawhauser, get Hylander back on his feet.”

As Clawhauser helped the hyrax up, Beaverbrook stepped in and righted the water bottle Hylander had knocked over.

“I just realized something,” said Nick. “A ‘pin’ would probably take a minute at least in these suits.”

“That’s a good point,” said Lee.

“What about tagging them out?” suggested Clawhauser.

Lee considered it, but shook her head. “It’d have to be a certain area of the suit – like the back. It depends on where the Labors’ batteries are.”

“I’ve got it,” said Beaverbrook, running off, then coming back with a roll of masking tape. The beaver tore off two long strips, folding their sticky sides in on themselves while leaving a small bit of adhesive exposed, then attached one of them each on the backs of Judy and Hylander’s sloth suits.

“Like flag football,” said Beaverbrook. “You pull the tape off and you win.”

Lee thought about it. “Not ideal, but I can’t think of anything better, so let’s try it out.”

This time, Judy and Hylander met with better luck, but the fight still dragged on much longer than either of them would have liked. Both of them were more careful to avoid the bottles and cans, but that only made the match even slower. From whenever she glanced at the sidelines, Judy could swear she saw Nick nodding off.

Still, when the two finally made contact after three minutes, it felt odd for Judy to see her and Hylander’s moves in slow motion. Anticipating each other felt hard, mainly because even they didn’t know how to make a move themselves with the sloth suits fighting back.

Eventually, the first penalty came after the first ten minutes when Hylander exposed his back to Judy. Judy reached out for the tape, but she found herself falling over onto two cans when her fingers were less than half an inch from their target.

“At least now we know what we’re doing,” Nick muttered to Lee before turning back to the octagon. “Remember, Blunderbuss, penalties count against both of you.”

Both Judy and Hylander groaned as Clawhauser tiptoed into the octagon to set Judy upright again, stopping only to right a bottle the cheetah had knocked over with his tail.

The match continued, with Hylander earning the second penalty of the match when knocking over a bottle while adjusting his footing. By this point, the bout had lasted almost forty minutes. Beaverbrook had returned to his copy of _Karl Barx: Greatness and Illusion_ by the sidelines. Clawhauser had stepped out to help restock Ready Room 2’s fridge, then came back. Two officers of Division 1 and a handful of morbidly fascinated mechanics stopped by every now and again to ask how the slow-motion sparring session was progressing – sometimes staying a short while to see if anything actually happened – then continued on their way.

For the combatants themselves, it was hard to tell if they should be bored or energized, unsure if the sloth suits would outright stop them if they kept moving. Under the suits, their fur began to mat as their bodies heated up from exertion.

Finally, the match seemed about to end when Judy left her back open for a split-ten-minutes, allowing Hylander to reach for her tape strip.

But then Nick craned his head forward and called out “Time.”

“What?” said Hylander.

“Our shift’s over. We get to go home now,” said Nick.

Judy and Hylander’s jaws dropped. Judy wasn’t sure if this was good news or bad, but she didn’t protest as her sloth suit was switched off and stepped out.

“I feel like I’ve been put in fast-forward,” muttered Hylander as he got out of his own suit. Judy felt jittery as well as she took her first free steps since putting the contraption on.

* * *

Judy was still mulling over the day of sloth-suited misery when she got home. It felt like just about all of her fights since joining Division 2 left her dissatisfied – with the possible exception of that Bullfrog at the paint factory, and even that had been followed up with countless buckets of paint thinner. Still, the bizarre events of the octagon were better than what had happened at Okavango Road at any rate.

The sound of Judy’s MuzzleTime ringtone interrupted her pondering.

The rabbit put on her best Cheshire Cat face. “Oh hi! It’s my parents!”

“Hey there, Jude-the-Dude,” said Stu Hopps, his expression chipper. Bonnie Hopps stood next to him. “Things going okay in the big city?”

“So far, so good,” said Judy. “Not much happening lately.” That’s right – get their minds off her job…

Still, Judy wasn’t sure whether to be mad or glad when her parents sighed on the other end.

From there, the conversation was pretty much standard for these calls.

“You eating well?”

“Yes.”

“You getting along well with the others?”

“Yes.”

“Nothing broken?”

“No.”

“Find any nice bucks in the city?”

“No.”

“The city everything you hoped?”

“Sure.”

Then came a curveball. “Your father and I have some news for you,” said Bonnie.

“Oh?” Usually when her parents adopted this tone of voice, it meant Judy was going to get another litter of nieces and nephews – or more rearely these days, of brothers and sisters.

“I may be cutting a deal with Camelty Organic Foods soon,” said Stu. “So I’m coming down to Zootopia to seal the deal in a couple weeks and we thought, why not come ‘round and see how you were doing?”

“Oh!” Judy smiled.

“Yeah,” said Bonnie. “We haven’t been in the city for a while, so you’ll have to give us the grand tour.”

Judy made a mental note to plan tour routes – ideally as far away from SV2 as possible.

* * *

The next day brought another few painful hours in the sloth suits for Division 2’s Forwards and Backups. This time the match was more of a success, and it went better for Judy to boot; while she scored incurred both of the match’s two penalties, she just barely managed to snag the tape off Hylander’s back.

After the match, no one was up for Round 2, and it had been almost four hours already, so the four sloth-suited officers made their agonizing way back up to Ready Room 2.

No sooner had they all made it there than an announcement came over the PA system.

_“Now hear this. Now hear this. All Division 2 Officers are to report to the Captains’ office. All Division 2 Officers to the Captains’ office.”_

The suited Officers groaned before another announcement rang out.

_“And yes, you can take those contraptions off first.”_

The next sound from Division 2 was a sigh of relief.

* * *

After Division 2 had gotten their suits off, they lined up in the Captains’ office in front of Captain Bogo.

“Over the last three weeks, four businesses in the Canal District have been hit with ram-raids,” said the buffalo.

“Ram-raids, sir?” said Beaverbrook. “I thought half the Canal District banned cars and trucks.”

“Who said anything about cars and trucks?” said Bogo, brandishing a file. “According to CCTV footage and forensic evidence, the ‘ramming’ was done by a Labor – yes, _a_ Labor. Precinct 19 thinks this was the work of one gang with one Labor. Either way, it’s a job for us now, so the City’s sending barges to get our Ingrowls around the District. Still, we’re giving your machines some quick waterproofing before we ship out. The barges arrive in four hours; I want you ready to load up our Labors by then. Dismissed.”

* * *

Several hours later, Division 2 was riding two City Maintenance motor-barges northward up Big Bayou Bay. The barges were rusted hulks, obviously used to carrying Labors for underwater maintenance. They were both catamarans with platforms between the hulls that acted like a Labor-carrier’s payload bay; only instead of tilting upward, they tipped down into the water. Bogo had ordered that the Ingrowls be covered with tarpaulins to avoid attracting attention lest the ram-raiders pack up and scatter.

The crew of the barges hardly said a word to the officers, except a note before they departed Sv2 that the Zeeplabors were _not_ the most unusual cargo they’d carried. Judy had tried to ask what their most unusual cargo had been, but the engine of the barge had started up at that moment, and the sea otter she’d been talking to was drowned out by the din. Judy didn’t bother repeating the question. Frith almighty, it was a miracle that otter wasn’t deaf from working near that engine for so long.

The rest of the journey to the Canal District passed uneventfully, but Judy was able to get a good view of northeast Savanna Central. Most of it was more docks and warehouses – even a container port. Then the barges passed Jean Bisondale International Airport. Judy had to shield her ears as an airliner passed over them to come in for a landing. Finally, they proceeded past the quiet, wooded outskirts of the Canal District. Some of the shore was filled with small-to-medium size buildings atop wooden or concrete pillars. Houseboats were also moored at various points.

The barges turned into one of the inlets of the Angel River Delta until they reached the actual canals, where the buildings became larger. Here and there, they passed a hippopotamus wading by, sometimes with a chain of baskets in tow. The waterways were also increasingly choked with boats of various shapes and sizes – a ZTA Aquabus here, a Boxer on another Labor barge there, and so on.

Eventually, the two barges were moored beside a small dry-dock. From there, Division 2 was met by two ZPD officers and a hippopotamus in a Police Captain’s uniform.

After alighting the barge, Captain Bogo walked up to the hippo. “Higgins,” he said with a nod. “Congratulations on the promotion.”

The hippo shrugged. “Eh, still doesn’t feel right without ya. I’m still getting used to being back in the Canal District. Anyway, we’re setting a hotel a few blocks north to accommodate your shorties. We can cover the rest at P19.”

* * *

“The County Fusion Center’s done just about all the heavy lifting for us,” said Captain Mick Higgins as he handed Captain Bogo a cup of coffee in the hippo’s sparsely decorated office at the Precinct 19 building, two aquablocks from the dry-dock. “They did a bit of networking with our boys, but that was mostly just the actual crime scene stuff. Forensics has our mystery Labor pinned down. It’s a Frogmammal – the kind used for underwater cable maintenance, that sorta thing.”

Higgins sighed. “’Course you probably know more about this Labor crud than me now that you’re workin’ with ‘em and all.”

“Don’t give me that much credit, Higgins,” Bogo snorted. “We both know I wasn’t put there ‘cos I was a techie.”

“Sorry, sir-“ Higgins broke off and grimaced. “Guess I shouldn’t call you ‘sir’ anymore, huh?”

“You’ll grow into it,” said Bogo. “Anyway, Buckminster sent us out here. Wasn’t too clear on what we were supposed to do, but knowing ‘Bucknabster’…”

Higgins chuckled. “He still hasn’t caught on?”

Bogo grunted. “If he _could_ catch on, he wouldn’t act so damn proud of having the most useless position on the force. ”

“Fair ‘nuff,” said Higgins. “Think he’ll do the usual?”

“Yep,” sighed Bogo. “Pass the ‘buck’ if we fail, ‘nab’ the credit if we succeed. Surprised he hasn’t gone into politics yet – he’d fit right in.”

“What can ya do?” said Higgins. “Anywho, I got my bullpen ready for your guys. Shall we?”

* * *

Bogo and Higgins made their way to Precinct 19’s briefing room. Normally the two tables in the front row would seat five or six of Higgins’ officers. Now one table had five of Bogo’s subordinates perching on two chairs while Clawhauser sat on a third right next to them. A small handful of Precinct 19 Officers were seated throughout the room.

“I’ll let you do the honors,” chuckled Higgins.

Bogo gave a snort at his former subordinate, but he had to admit it felt good standing behind a podium again.

“Right, here’s what we know,” he said as Higgins turned off the lights and switched on a projector, which showed images of two smashed-in storefronts. “Over the past three weeks, four businesses in the Canal District were raided in the dead of night – two 24-hour ATMs, a jewelry store, and an antique dealer. After smashing their fronts in with a Labor, the perps walked right in, grabbed all the money and valuables they could, and ran off. At first, there was little we could find on these thieves, as the Labor made an effort to smash every camera it could, but with the jewelry store, it missed this one.”

The projector now showed black-and-white footage of what looked like the rear end of a jewelry store. The tip of a three-fingered, spindly robotic arm became visible as the lights of the store went out. Then four mammals – all wearing masks – made their way across the debris, smashing the glass cabinets containing the jewels, and throwing everything they could into bulky-looking bags, and dashing back out. From the look of things, the thieves were two otters, a rather small hippo, and a very large rodent with no tail and a blunt snout.

“We don’t know for certain who these thieves are,” said Bogo as the camera footage came to an end. “Just that they’re two otters, a capybara, a pygmy hippopotamus, and a fifth mammal piloting the Labor. Their MO seems to be that the four mammals in the footage hide somewhere while the Labor snuck up and opened a way in for them. No suspicious mammals of those species were seen in advance of these robberies, so either the Labor’s pilot cased the joints beforehand, or a sixth mammal did it for them.

“Forensic evidence suggests that the same Labor was used in all four jobs,” Bogo continued, as the screen shifted to an image of a Labor. “An M135 Frogmammal built by Ondatra Manufacturing – made for underwater construction work.”

The Frogmammal looked like an old-fashioned diving suit for non-aquatic mammals; it had a head with multiple windows, as well as large, flat, flipper-like feet, a bulky backpack, the same spindly, three-fingered hands that had appeared in the footage.

“Canal District ZPD have been monitoring all Labors of this type going into and out of the Borough, and all those that have done so seem to have alibis for the days of the crimes,” said Bogo. “Which would indicate that the Labor we want hasn’t left the Canal District since at least the first job. Now, the Canal District force has been tracking down any Frogmammals that have stayed in the Borough in that time, and cross-referencing them with the city registry. So far, we’re down to three suspect Labors, all belonging to local construction companies where it’s the only Labor they own. All three of these companies claim their Frogmammals were with them the whole time, but their alibis either can’t be verified, or could easily be faked. So someone’s been telling lies.”

The projector now showed a map of the Canal District with seven points marked on it – four green points for the robbery sites, and three red ones where the suspect Labors were kept.

“Trouble is,” Bogo remarked. “The only way to know for sure if one these Labors did it is if we had a search warrant, and we don’t have enough against them to put before a judge. Luckily, we’ve had a breakthrough.”

The screen now showed a mugshot of a hippo. “This is Darren Potts,” Bogo explained. “He’s a pygmy hippo who’s recently served six years for armed robbery. He was recently seen talking to a coypu that had been seen at the jewelry store and one of the ATMs shortly before they were smashed. The coypu hasn’t been identified, and we haven’t definitively tied Potts to any of the three construction companies, but we’re not looking into the possibility that Potts is the hippo in the footage, and the coypu was casing the places for him and the rest of the gang. And what’s more, their spree might not be over.”

Now the projector showed the map again, this time with a yellow dot marking another location. “The coypu was seen again, loitering around another jewelry store marked here.” Bogo pointed to the yellow dot. “All this indicates that four jobs weren’t enough for our gang, so they’re going to try again. That’s where _we_ come in.”

The map now showed two numbers – 1 and 2 – roughly in the middle of the map, each a few aquablocks in opposite directions from the yellow dot. “The plan is to station Units 1 and 2 in barges on Rio Mangrove here and here.” Bogo pointed to the two numbers.

“You lot…” Bogo gestured to the larger Precinct 19 officers. “…will be watching the jewelry store, but some from other Precincts will also be keeping an eye out for any unusual Labor movements anywhere in the Canal District in case they’ve decided to try anywhere else. The moment we hear of any suspicious activity, Division 2’s barges will move in and confront the Frogmammal if he shows up.

“Now then, for Division 2; the Fleabags Hotel has generously offered you accommodation while we wait for nightfall. I suggest that until this operation, you use what time you can to get some sleep. We’re gonna be in for some long nights.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**
> 
> 1) Toshihiko Sahashi – "Procrastination" – from _The Big O_
> 
> 2) Toshihiko Sahashi – "Perverse" – from _The Big O_


	4. "He'll know when he sees it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check the bottom of this chapter for an important announcement.

Judy’s hotel room had roughly the same dimensions as her room at the Grand Pangolin Arms, but felt less dingy. She supposed it was because here they actually paid someone to clean it.

Still, if she had to wait, she’d have preferred to do it in the Ready Room back at Sv2. She wasn’t sure why – maybe she missed the company? Either way, the hotel would give her a wake-up call when it was time to go.

A groan escaped Judy’s lips as she remembered she was supposed to sleep during the day and part of the evening before sundown. Coming from a crepuscular species, the idea felt odd to her. Staying up all day or all night didn’t bother her, but sleeping in either the morning or early morning just felt alien. She made a note to talk to her more diurnal co-workers when she got the chance.

Suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle revving up split through the afternoon. Judy had to hold her ears to shield them from the earth-shattering din.

She quickly made her way to the window. There, she saw that the offending small-scaled motorcycle was on the road across the canal from the hotel. Judy couldn’t see much of the rider underneath their black helmet and black Pawgahyde biker’s jacket, but judging from the shape of their body, and their red-furred, white-tipped tail, it had to be a vixen.

Judy chanced to look down and saw Nick standing by the guardrails by the water’s edge on the hotel’s side of the canal. The tod was holding his ears like Judy was, only he seemed to be making a point of looking away from the biker vixen. Now that Judy thought of it, the vixen was looking toward Nick as well as she revved her engine louder and louder.

Eventually, Nick seemed to have had enough, and he turned toward the biker at last.

“Cut it out!” he yelled over the roar.

 _Finally_ the engine noise died down, and the vixen pointedly tilted her head and raised the visor of her helmet. Judy couldn’t see Nick’s expression from her vantage point, but his body language was enough to tell her he was aggravated as he ran across a nearby bridge toward the biker.

Now Judy could see Nick begin to have a conversation with the vixen. She couldn’t quite hear what was being said, but Nick’s furrowed expression told her that he was _not_ happy to see the biker. Judy couldn’t see the vixen’s face under her helmet, so she couldn’t tell if the vixen was petulant or arrogant when she crossed her arms. The talk carried on a short while before Nick turned back to cross the bridge. The vixen then started her bike back up and motored off.

Judy’s nose twitched a little at what she’d just seen, then she smiled. It felt good knowing there were mammals out there who could annoy Nick the way he annoyed her.

* * *

As Unit 1’s barge was moved into position with its tarp-covered cargo, the events with Nick and the biker vixen began playing in Judy’s head.

Clawhauser was with the barge’s captain in the bridge. Nick was staring into the water off the barge’s side.

Judy figured now was a good time to press the fox, so she walked up to him. “You get enough sleep?”

“Think so,” said Nick.

“I had a bit of trouble after that biker woke me up,” said Judy, noticing Nick’s ears drop a little as she spoke. “Thanks for dealing with that, by the way.”

Nick’s lip twitched a bit. “Well, you won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

“Good to know,” said Judy. “She a friend of yours?”

“Hardly,” said Nick, turning to walk for the bridge. “Better suit up – we’re gonna be here a long time.”

Judy noticed that the barge was now moored and in position. The rabbit’s foot thumped for a bit before she put her helmet on and began climbing under the tarp into Robin’s cockpit.

That fox was more of a puzzle by the day…

* * *

Judy had expected that the robbers would make their attempt on the first night of the stakeout. But that night there wasn’t so much as a whiff of a Labor out of place. At daybreak, Division 2 sauntered back to the hotel to try and regain some semblance of their circadian rhythms.

About the only notable thing that happened that day was when Hylander took a walk to see the damage done to the antiques store, then made a fuss about it when Division 2 was dining in Clawhauser’s room. Apparently the thieves hadn’t just stolen a few particularly valuable items, but had also damaged some old and expensive items of furniture when smashing their way in.

“This wasn’t robbery,” growled the hyrax. “This was vandalism! Sheer unbridled vandalism!”

Beaverbrook had had to restrain him.

As for Nick, the fox had been even more distant than usual after that vixen had appeared.

That evening, as she tossed and turned in bed, Judy sighed. Had she gone too far? What business was Nick’s love life to her anyway?

Still, not knowing bugged her. Why was that? Sheer curiosity? Lingering speciesism? Could Judy be put in danger if Nick wasn’t open with her?

Judy groaned and sandwiched her head between two pillows. Would her mind just shut up and let her sleep?!

* * *

After making her way back to Unit 1’s barge that night, even Judy had to resist yawning as she sat in Robin’s cockpit. Too much was happening lately and she was beginning to worry it was taking a toll on her sleep schedule.

All of a sudden, her comms system squawked to life. _“Blue niner-niner to all points. We have suspicious movement at Rio Pondelier, moving south. Looks like a Labor moving under the water with its lights on.”_

Judy glanced at the map she had with her. For some reason, all canals in the Canal District were called ‘Rio’ something-or-other. Rio Pondelier was a few aquablocks east of her position, in the opposite direction to the jewelry store.

 _“Is it turning toward Rio Mangrove?”_ came Captain Bogo’s voice.

 _“Can’t tell just yet,”_ said the undercover officer. _“It doesn’t_ look _like it’s turning just yet- ah, fuzz.”_

 _“What is it?”_ said Bogo.

_“It’s turned off its lights. I can’t see it.”_

_“All units be ready for anything – you in particular, Unit 1,”_ said Captain Bogo.

“Copy that,” said Judy, tensing her hands around Robin’s control levers.

After a few aching minutes, another voice came through the comms.

_“Dispatch to all points; we have reports of a Labor attacking a jewelry store on Rio Ducale and Rio Conch. Confirmed to match description of suspect Labor.”_

_“Rio Ducale?”_ said Nick.

Judy checked her map again. The intersection of those two canals was several aquablocks southeast of Unit 1’s position.

 _“Damn, they changed their target,”_ growled Bogo. _“Wilde, I want Unit 1 over there yesterday! Unit 2, back them up.”_

 _“Got it,”_ said Nick.

Judy could feel the barge set off underneath her, first in reverse as it turned around, then motoring forward.

 _“Remember, Carrots,”_ said Nick. _“Robin’s been waterproofed, but I wouldn’t put it to the test, so don’t let the water get above his waist.”_

“Copy that,” said Judy as she booted up Robin’s OS. “You sure you’re not suited for this?”

There was a palpable silence on the other end. _“Eye on the ball, rabbit.”_

* * *

As soon as the barge reached its destination, the tarp was finally taken off Robin, and Judy could feel the barge’s cargo platform tilt down, and the Ingrowl slide into the canal. The water was already up to the machine’s thighs.

Sure enough, the Labor reaching its hands into the jewelry store was a Frogmammal. Judy flicked on Robin’s front lights, revealing the aquatic Labor to have a copper-orange paintjob.

“This is the Police,” said Judy through her loudspeakers. “Come out of the Frogmammal with your hands up!”

“What the fuzz?” a voice squaked through the Frogmammal’s speakers as it turned toward Unit 1. “Where’d you come from?!”

“I repeat, stand down or we will have to use force,” said Judy.

“Wait a sec…!” Panic entered the crook’s voice. “Those are the new kinds… Holy fish-paste, it’s the PsychoLabors!”

Judy’s nose twitched. “What?”

“I give, I give!” The Frogmammal suddenly raised its arms. “Just don’t hurt me! I only wanted the money. I’ll testify-“

“WHAT’RE YA DOING?!” a voice bellowed from below. Judy angled Robin’s head downward to see a small hippo an otter – the same ones she’d seen in the security camera footage.

“You don’t understand, Darren!” The Frogmammal turned to the hippo. “I saw what these maniacs did on Okavango Road. They’ll tear up half the block to get us!”

Judy groaned. “If she heard someone mention Okavango Road _one more time_ …!

“YOU DIM-BULB!” roared the hippo. “DON’T USE MY NAME!”

“S-sorry, Darren– uh, sir,” the Frogmammal pilot muttered.

“Okay, ‘Darren’…” Behind Judy, Unit 1’s barge shone a floodlight at the front of the store as Nick addressed the thieves via a megaphone. “How you managed to pull four heists with these idiots is a mystery to me, but your luck’s obviously run out. You’ve been caught with your hands in the cookie jar and even your robo-muscle’s chickened out. So why don’t you just give up now, huh?”

“Come on, Darren; do as he says,” pleaded the Frogmammal pilot.

“We can work with this, we can work with this…!” the hippo growled through clenched teeth before turning to the otter. “Get the others to bring out the straggler.”

As the otter dashed back through the ruined storefront, the hippo turned back to the barge. “Didn’t think of this, didya? Even we hadn’t counted on someone takin’ too long to lock up.”

The otter soon came out, assisting another otter and a capybara in carrying out a sloth wearing glasses and formal attire.

“Help…!” the sloth yelled. “I’m…”

The hippo sneered. “Now one false move and the slowpoke gets it. Dean, pick ‘im up.”

“B-but you just used my name–“

“I said _pick ‘im up_!”

“…being…”

The Frogmammal gingerly lowered its three-fingered hand toward the sloth, picked him up by the waist, and held him up.

“Now we’ll be takin’ him with us if you know what’s good for ‘im,” said the hippo.

“…robbed!”

“L-let’s nto get ahead of ourselves,” said Nick. “You should probably put him down. Labors aren’t really made to carry mammals. You could crush that sloth by accident. He’s worth nothing to you dead.”

“I-I could?!” the Frogmammal pilot stammered.

“Yeah.” Nick turned his megaphone up at in the Frogmammal’s direction. “So why don’t you just put him down and-“

“No, you idiot!” yelled the hippo. “He’s a fox _and_ a cop. It’s some kinda trick.” He then turned back toward Nick’s barge. “Now we’re gonna be headed for the Bay. If we see _one cop_ on the way there, the sloth practices his division.”

“Darren- uh, Boss?” said the Frogmammal pilot. “I’m not sure about this.”

“It’s just ‘til we get outta the District,” said one of the otters.

The Frogmammal turned to Robin. “I just wanna say, for the record an’ all, that this was _not_ my idea. I didn’t-“

The hippo covered his eyes. “Dean, open your hatch. You’re switching out with Crispin.”

“And now they know my name,” muttered the other otter, rolling his eyes as the Frogmammal knelt down by the side of the canal, allowing the otter to clamber up to the hatch.

Just as the hatch opened up, Robin surged forward, reaching an arm for the cockpit. The otter, startled by the action, tumbled into the cockpit, landing in the lap of a rather panicked coypu.

The coypu pilot made his machine stand up, and as he and the equally disoriented otter tumbled around the cockpit, the Frogmammal tumbled toward the other side of the canal.

Robin bolted through the water, catching the errant Labor before it could smash into a canalside building. As Robin righted the Frogmammal, the two mammals in the latter’s cockpit jostled for space, leading their machine to abruptly swing its arm upward, knocking Judy away. It was only by putting Robin’s arm on the road at the other side of the canal that she avoided submerging the Ingrowl’s torso.

It was plain to see that the two cramped mammals’ pushing and shoving each other in the Frogmammal’s cockpit were bumping the Labor’s controls, making it flail uncontrollably.

Judy’s heart sank as the arm holding the jeweler sloth began rotating at the elbow. The rabbit flung Robin at the arm, pushing the Frogmammal’s torso into the canal embankment and planting Robin’s foot on its chest. With all its might, Robin yanked on the Frogmammal’s arm, trying to resist the pull of its rotation, until a loud clanking and popping greeted Judy’s ears.

Robin had to adjust its footing so it didn’t fall over backwards as the Frogmammal’s arm detached at the elbow.

The rabbit set the arm on the other side of the canal next to the Ingrowl’s barge and began prying the fingers off the sloth. She turned Robin’s head toward Nick as she switched on her loudspeakers. “You’d better take care of-“

Suddenly the sloth got up and dashed by the side of the barge in a blur.

When she looked toward the barge, Judy could see that just like her, everyone on the boat – Nick and Clawhauser included – was staring after the running sloth with slack jaws.

“What other lies have I been living?” Nick muttered.

Judy shook off her shock and turned to the still-flailing Frogmammal. The rabbit noticed that the machine’s head-mounted hatch. No doubt that had made the cockpit even more cramped, and the Labor even more uncontrollable if there were two mammals in there.

“WHAT’RE YOU DOING?!” screamed the hippo as the machine started doing a twisted goose-step away from the jewelry store. He was promptly interrupted by two larger hippo ZPD officers jumping him from behind and cuffing his arms while a jaguar officer and a water buffalo officer ran after his accomplices.

Robin grabbed the Frogmammal’s remaining arm just seconds before it could make contact with a building, then used its free arm to put the enemy Labor into a modified chokehold.

“Where’s Hylander?” Judy groaned as she tried to keep this demented Tango up.

“On his way,” said Nick through his earpiece.

“I don’t want to let go of him while he’s like this,” said Judy, switching on her loudspeakers. “Listen, you two in the Frogmammal, just open your cockpit. You’re only endangering yourselves.

Judy breathed a sigh of relief as the Frogmammal’s head-cockpit opened. The coypu half-tumbled out screaming before the otter reached out to grab him and pull him back in, the cockpit closing after them.

“You’re not getting us that easi _ly-y-y-y-y_!”

The otter’s voice was cut off as the Frogmammal’s leg shot back, nearly causing the two Labors to fall over as the centre of gravity changed in their bizarre dance. Judy had to contort Robin’s body to keep the out-of-control aquatic Labor’s head above the water.

With its ‘head’ only a few inches above the water, the Frogmammal’s cocpit opened up again, and the coypu jumped into the water. Through the refraction of the water in Robin’s chest lights, Judy could just about make out the large rodent swimming away.

“ _Now_ let’s try this!” hissed the otter, as he planted the Frogmammal’s feet against the bottom of the canal and pushed back, sending Robin back-first into the opposite embankment.

Briefly disoriented, Judy tried to stand Robin back up again. “Just give up already,” she seethed. “You’ve only got one arm. One way or another, I’m bringing you in.”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” said the otter, as his Labor suddenly fell backward into the water.

The foam left by the giant splash made it hard for Judy’s lights to pick up movement. All of a sudden, she felt Robin’s weight shift underneath her. The world through her monitors began to spin, and next thing she knew, all she could see through them was dust and bubbles.

 _“Hopps, you alright?!”_ came Nick’s voice.

“I-I’m fine,” said Judy. “The waterproofing seems to be working. I’ll get back up and-“

Judy was cut off as she felt the Ingrowl beign pushed down onto the canal bed, then grinded along its belly. Suddenly she felt the ground underneath her drop away. She tried to stand Robin up, but her monitors only caught a bit of the surface lapping at the head-mounted cameras.

 _“He’s pushed you into a deeper canal,”_ said Nick. _“Get back up here. Ingrowls aren’t built for swimming – Frogmammals are.”_

“I can’t see anything,” panted Judy. “I don’t even know where I am!”

* * *

By now, Hylander and Unit 2 had made their way to the point where the shallower Rio Conch intersected with the deeper Rio Ducale and had rendezvoused with Unit 1’s barge and the other officers.

“Confound it,” grumbled Hylander as he took in the two sets of lights in the deeper, silt-choked water. “If I could tell which one was Hopps, I’d shoot that Frogmammal.”

“You can’t,” snapped Lee. “As long as he’s underwater, we’d risk drowning the pilot.”

“At this rate, Hopps’ll be the one drowning,” said Hylander. “Her air tanks are smaller than his.”

Just then, one set of lights pushed the other toward the other side of the canal, where there was no street-embankment between the water and the buildings.

“Oh no,” Lee murmured before speaking into her radio. “Hopps, don’t let him slam you into those canalside buildings. Most of them are old – they’d fall right on top of you.”

* * *

Under the water, Judy could feel the back of her machine slam into something hard. Her teeth clenched as she realized what it was.

“My back’s right against a wall, I think,” she said. “Where’s the Frogmammal?”

* * *

Lee peered out over the murky waters to see the lights. “Coming right at you – two o’clock!”

* * *

Judy grimaced as she considered her options.

Duck or dodge? The Frogmammal’s momentum would smash into the building behind her.

Give the enemy Labor a kick as it approached? She’d have to brace Robin against the wall for support; Gnuton’s Third Law meant that she could just as easily break the building’s foundation herself.

Then an idea came to her. She flung out Robin’s arms, grabbed the Frogmammal’s remaining arm, and swung it down Rio Ducale. Confused by the redirected momentum, the Frogmammal could only continue a short while longer until it vanished from Judy’s silt-obstructed view.

“Quick!” she panted. “There’s a corner near me, isn’t there?”

 _“Yeah,”_ said Nick. _“Four or five yards to your left – if your back’s still against that wall.”_

“Okay,” said Judy. “Tell Hylander to shoot down that canal when I give the signal.”

 _“Shoot down the canal at what?!”_ Lee snapped.

“He’ll know when he sees it,” said Judy as she inched Robin closer toward the intersection.

 _“Hopps, I hope you know what you’re doing,”_ said Hylander.

Judy took a deep breath in, watching her monitors until she saw the lights of the Frogmammal coming at her.

This time Judy was ready. She planted Robin’s feet into the ground, bent over, and shoved the Enemy Labor’s chest upward until its torso breached the waterline.

“NOW!” she screamed.

A loud bang echoed through the Canal District.

Through drops of water on her camera’s lenses and intermittent waves, Judy could see a satisfying flourish of sparks coming from the Frogmammal’s back-mounted batteries. The now-disabled Labor’s cockpit opened, and Judy could see the otter jump into the canal. She tried to grab for him, but the Frogmammal’s remains pushed her down, and she had to return both hands to holding the other Labor up.

 _“Forget about him, Carrots,”_ Nick sighed. _“Just get that thing out of there before it starts leaking battery acid or you spring a leak.”_

* * *

“I’m still surprised it worked,” said Judy as she put down her bottle of car shampoo and sat down beside Robin’s foot. “I thought for sure Hylander was going to miss or something.”

“Shows what happens when you stop and think,” said Nick as he sat down beside her.

“You deserve credit for it too you know,” said Judy with a smirk. “Most of the time I get just one idea, and all the ones I thought about before that one would have done more damage to the area. Your crazy sloth suits helped me think more.”

Nick looked ready to say something, but then he closed his muzzle.

Judy studied the floor. “You really should give yourself more credit, you know. Your ideas are setting precedents for the unit.” The rabbit looked up at Nick with a cocksure smile. “You’ve got a good future here if you keep at it. Don’t let a loose cannon like me get in the way.”

After a moment of silence, Nick sighed. “You’ll forget me soon enough.”

“Robin won’t.”

Nick glanced over at Judy, whose smirk became a more earnest smile. “His OS refines itself based on my movements – he’s learning from me learning from you. Even IHI’s newer models will have OSs based on my movements, so it’s guaranteed that Zeeplabors in the future will be learning from what you’ve been teaching me.”

Before Nick could counter, Hylander walked up to them.

As Judy and Nick turned toward him, the hyrax coughed, adjusted his glasses, and took a deep breath in. “Erm, Wilde?”

“Yeah?”

Hylander clenched his teeth. “On behalf of…” He turned away. “That’s not right – it’s not on anyone’s behalf.” He turned back to Nick. “I’ve been considering… No, that’s not it either.”

Judy’s nose twitched. Nick’s head tilted.

Hylander sighed and shook his head. “Oh, for the love of…” He stood up straight. “I’d like to apologize for what I said to you last week about your dedication. It was beneath me, and unbecoming an officer of the law. It’s evident now that you’re a valuable part of this Division, and we’d be lost without you. I should consider that in future.”

The hyrax’s gaze practically bored a hole into Robin’s leg behind Nick and Judy as silence fell over their part of the hangar.

“Is that it?” Nick said at last.

“D-did you expect more?” Hylander stammered.

“No, no – it’s fine.” Nick raised his hand. “Apology accepted.”

“Oh, um…” Judy could see the insides of Hylander’s ears redden. “I-if it’s alright with you, I’ll be in the Ready Room if either of you need me.”

The fox and the rabbit stared after Hylander as he walked off.

Nick spoke up next. “Did you put him up to this?”

“No.”

“Pouchvenger?”

“Haven’t seen him talking with Lee since we got back.” Judy turned to Nick with a smirk. “Like I said, if you’re trying to be a lousy cop, you’re not doing a very good job.”

Nick sighed.

Just then, Joanna Namakoro ran out in front of them, frantically looking all around her before turning to Nick and Judy.

“Why did I have to listen to you, Wilde?!” the hyena groaned.

“What did I do now?” Nick rolled his eyes.

“Camazotz decided the sloth suits weren’t enough,” Joanna panted. “She’s designing another suit that plays games with your brain if you’re too fast. I’m getting out of here before she starts looking for test subjects, and if you’re smart, you’ll-”

“Take cover! Every mammal for themselves!” A jackrabbit mechanic dashed up the ladder into Robin’s open cockpit, closing the hatch behind him.

“Hey!” Judy shouted up at the jackrabbit.

“Hey, _I_ was going to hide there!” pouted Joanna.

 _“Oh, Jo-an-na!”_ Camazotz’s voice sang through the PA system.

“Aw, Carbide!” Joanna groaned as she ran out into the weeds outside the hangar.

Nick suddenly grabbed Judy by the arm and ran after her.

“Nick, what-“

“Come on, Carrots,” Nick panted. “If we put our backs into it, we could swim to Marshlands.”

“Nick, we can’t-“

 _“Calling all potential test pilots!”_ Camazotz sang out again.

A shiver ran down Judy’s spine. “On the other hand, I have a few swamp rabbits in the family…!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No next-episode preview for now, I'm afraid. Check below for why.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's the end of that serial. Now comes the heavy stuff.
> 
> The reason I started writing serials in advance was partly so I could update regularly, and partly so I could buy time to write new stuff while posting. However, things haven't worked out as they should. That was how "The Belabored Bootlegger" was supposed to work, and it didn't work as planned if my nearly year-long absence was any indication. And I barely have a start on the first draft of the next serial, so things have already gone off the rails with that too.
> 
> Basically, my self-confidence, motivation, and productivity have taken a huge hit over the past year, and recent world events haven't helped. In fact, there are points where I've felt like a failure and a hack for not living up to my expectations. With this in mind, I have decided that I shouldn't keep your hopes up if what happened between this serial and the last one was any indication. 
> 
> So as of this update, I'm sorry to say, I am placing _Zeeplabor_ on indefinite hiatus.
> 
> For those of you who've enjoyed the story thus far, I'm sorry to leave you like this, especially in a time when everything seems to be shutting down due to COVID-19. I'm as disappointed as you are. If you want more _Zootopia_ fics, I recommend looking at the works of ubernoner, Pandora, J_Shute, MamaSally, and the countless other writers who have been soldiering on with their stories in these troubling times.
> 
> Thank you all for bearing with me thus far, and I hope we see each other again someday.


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